Astros report: Morse gets away, but other offers on table

San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley, left, talks to pitcher Anthony Bass during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

Photo: George Nikitin, FRE

Lose most, win some.

As the Rule 5 draft and the winter meetings wrapped up Thursday morning in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., news broke that first baseman Michael Morse, one of the Astros' targets, had signed with the Giants for one year and $5 million, plus incentives.

The Astros reportedly were in serious discussions on Morse the previous night. They didn't get that deal done, but general manager Jeff Luhnow was optimistic as he prepared to leave Florida.

"It was actually very busy," Luhnow said. "We didn't get across the finish line on anything, but we were busy late last night. Didn't quite get anything across the finish line except for the (Anthony) Bass trade. But I think we laid the foundation. There are still a lot of unsigned players out there. We've had a lot of conversations with agents. We've talked to some teams. It just didn't break our way the last three days."

The Astros did acquire three players in a five-day span last week, and they brought on another arm, Bass, in a trade with the Padres on Wednesday.

"We have a handful of offers out," Luhnow said. "We'll probably continue to push a couple of them, and some of them we might take off the table at some point."

The Astros still want a first baseman and at least one other relief pitcher. A starting pitcher is possible, too.

"We don't make offers just to make offers," Luhnow said.

Rule 5 pick completes deal

In effect, the Astros made the first pick in the Rule 5 draft the day before the draft.

The Astros selected lefthanded pitcher Patrick Schuster from the Diamondbacks with the first pick in the draft Thursday, but they sent him immediately to the Padres, completing a trade the teams made Wednesday for righthander Anthony Bass as essentially a straight-up swap.

Bass comes to the Astros, and Schuster goes to the Padres, with the $50,000 selection fee the Astros paid to pick Schuster covered by the Padres.

The Rule 5 draft is in place to prevent teams from stockpiling in the minor leagues players who could have big league opportunities elsewhere.

"We decided this year, given our opportunity to pick (first), we talked to other clubs to see if anybody had interest to moving up to that position," Luhnow said. "When San Diego expressed interest, we worked out a deal for Bass."

Players selected in the major league portion of the draft have to remain on the 25-man roster an entire season or be offered back to the team they were taken from for $25,000.

Capable talent can be found in the Rule 5 draft. But keeping a young player who may not be polished or truly ready for the entire year also can be a strain. With Bass in the fold instead, that strain is gone, because he can freely move between the minors and majors.

"He's got major league experience, we like the arm, he's mid-90s, and he's got options," Luhnow said of Bass. "It gives us flexibility."

3 minor leaguers taken in draft

Considering the only players the Astros landed in the Rule 5 draft came in the minor league phase, they brought in a particularly intriguing trio.

Knuckleballers are rare, and lefthanders who throw the pitch are baseball's blue lobsters. Class AA pick Blaine Sims, formerly of the Braves organization, is still learning the pitch, but the Astros see upside.

Same for outfielder Ravel Santana, for whom there's a belief internally that All-Star potential still exists. That's the reason the Yankees gave the five-tool Santana a $149,000 signing bonus in 2008, but injuries have slowed him.

The Astros took Santana with the first pick in the Class AAA phase of the draft at a cost of $12,000.

"Once a very highly rated prospect in the Yankees system, he was a big-hype international sign, loaded with tools," Astros pro scouting coordinator Kevin Goldstein said. "He's had some injury problems the last couple years. He's a player we've liked for a while."

Santana, 21, didn't play in the minors in 2013 as he worked his way back from a 2011 injury to his right ankle that still plagued him in 2012.

Sims, 24, struck out 56 in 531⁄3 innings last season at various levels and cost $4,000 to select in the Class AA phase.

The Astros took lefthander Carlos Vazquez in the second round of the Class AAA phase. The 22-year old from Mexico has mostly been used as a reliever.

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